Guided railway connecter head



June 4, 1929. I E o so 1,715,787

GUIDED RAILWAY CONNECTER HEAD Filed Nov. 3, 1926 Mai 041315010.

Patented June 4, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT mam I orrics.

EDWARD A. ROBINSON, OF MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA.

- GUIDED RAILWAY OONNECTER Application filed November 13, 1926. Serial No. 148,142.

My invention relates to train pipe connectcrs and more particularly to guiding 1 and supporting means for connector heads.

' horizontal guide extending longitudinally A purpose or my invention is to have a rearwardly extendingsupport tor the head universally seat and pivot on and along a forward from a bracket.

A further purpose is to provide a sliding head support with a bearing upon and verti cal pivoting between tI'EIIibVGlSGly spaced. guide members extending horizontally :lorward from a bracket hxed to the train and giving a nearly universal joint within the .through the center of a butler s its extension.

Further purposes will appear in the specilication and in the claims.

I have preferred to illustrate my inven tion by one form only, selecting a form which is practical, eli'icicnt and inexpensive,

and which at the same time well illustrates the principles involved.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a connector equipped with my invention.

Figure 2 is rear end elevation of the structure shown in Figure 1 omitting the head.

Figure 3 is a section of Figure l'taken upon the line 3-:8.

Figure at is a fragmentary top plan View from the position of the line 4% but showing the guide ends closed as distinguished from the open ends in Figures 13. v

' Likenumerals refer to likeeparts in all figures.

Referring to the drawings and describing in illustration and not in limitation The connector head 15 is carried on a head support 16 which pivots on and. along a The bracket and guide are preferably an integral casting in which the guide coinprises oppositely placed (here upper and lower) horizontal forwardly extending pairs of parallel horizontally spaced guiding members 23, and 25, 26 respectively.

The upper and lower pivot projections 27 and 28 from the head support are supported and guided between the respective pairs of guides 23, 24 and 25, 26. y,

The pivot projections 27 and 28 may to advantage flange spherically at their innerends to form curved bearing surfaces 29 and 30 which seat respectively against the under sides of the upper guide members and the upper sides of the lower guide members.

I The pivot projections 27' and 28 and the spherically seating bearing surfaces 29 and 30 are preferably integral with the head support.

The upper and lower diagonally opposite arms 31 and 32 of the head support fasten to the head by means 01 bolts 33 in the way,

shown in my prior application Serial ,No. (310,718 to which the structure otherwise bears some resemblance.

Thebearing surfaces 29 and 30 with. their projecting pivots 27 and 28 preferably extend to the rear of the body 21 otthe head. support as illustrated in the drawingsto give head.

The flexible tie as shown comprises hook bolts 34 and 35 at the bracket and head support respectively, held together by chain links 36. Nuts 37 over washers 38 provide greater freedom of movement tothe means for anchoring the hook bolts, for ad justably controlling the length of the tie and for relieving the compression of the spring to permit more, easy assembly or disassembly.

The chief function of the tie is that of limiting the forward position of the head. While I can do this inother w'ays (as by transversely joining the horizontally spaced guide members in front of the pivots) I prefer the tie in that its use permits such easy longitudinal adjustment and relief of the spring compression for assembly and disassembly. v

I show the outer ends of the horizontally spaced guide members 23, 24 and 25, 26 respectively open in the main views'that is not joined together in front of the respective pivots, so that in assembly and disassembly the pivots may slide to and out of place between the open ends 39 and 40 but recognize that the strengths of these arms against vertical and lateral strains may be greatly increased by joining their ends, as at 41 in Figure 4f whether this be used to limit movement or not.

In view of my invention and disclosure variations and modifications to meet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art and I claim all such in so far as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent is:

1. In a train pipe connecter, a head, a rearwardly extending support therefor, an upper and a lower vertical pivot projection from each of vertically opposite sides there of, a for *ardly and rcarwardly extending bracket and guide member laterally engaging opposite sides of each projection, sustaining the weight of the support and having a forwardly directed face to the rear of the support, a compressed spring between the face and the support pressing the support forwardly, and means connecting through the spring with the rear portion of the bracket member and limiting the forward position of the support.

2. In a train pipe connecter, a head, a rearwardly extending support therefor, a downwardly extending pivot projection from the support, a guide seating and guiding the support and'having parallel horizontal rearwardly extending walls laterally engaging opposite sides of the projection, a bracket rigidly carrying the guide and having a forwardly directed face rearward of the support, a compressed spiral spring between the face and the support forwardly pressing the support, and a flexible tie be tween the support and the face limiting the forward position of the support.

3. In a train pipe connecter, a head, a rearwardly extending support therefor, an upper and a lower vertical projection from vertically opposite sides thereof, a forwardly and rearwardly extending guide member laterally engztging opposite sides of each projection sustaining the weight of the support and having a forwardly directed face rearward of the support, a spring compressed. between the support and the face, a chain surrounded by the spring having ends respectively fastened to the support and to the guide limiting the forward osition of the support with respect to the ace, and a bracket fixed to the train and carrying the guide.

4. In a train pipe connecter, a head, a rearwardly extending support therefor, a downward vertical pivot projection from the support, a guide seating and guiding the support and having parallel horizontal rearwardly and forwardly extending portions laterally slidingly engaging opposite sides of the projection, a bracket fixed to the train and having a forwardly directed face rearward of tl'iesupport, a spiral spring compressed between the support and the face, a flexible tie between the face portion of the bracket and the support limiting the extension of the support with respect to the face, and a screw adjustment of the effective length of the tie adapted to relieve the compression of the spring.

5. In a train pipe connecter, a head support, pivot projections upon vertically opposite sides thereof, an integral bracket and guide comprising a transverse portion rearward of the support, an upper guide portion having horizontally forwardly extending vertical faces making longitudinally sliding lateral engagement with the upper projection, and a lower guide portion having horizontally forwardly extending parallel faces making longitudinally sliding engagement with the lower projection, a flexible tie between the support and the transversepon tion of the bracket, and a spiral spring sur rounding the tie and compressed between the transverse portion and the support.

6. In a train pipe connecter, a head support, a bracket fixed to the train and comprising a transverse portion rearward of the support and vertically spaced guides extending respectively from above and below the transverse portion and eachpresenting horizontally spaced parallel longitudinally extending guide portions, a vertical pivot between and engaging the upper guide portions, a vertical pivot between and engaging the lower guide portions, a spherical bearing carrying each pivot, forwardly rigidly connected to the support and making spherical bearing engagement with the respective guide portions, a spring compressed between the support and transverse portion, and means limiting the forward position of the head sup-port with respect to the bracket.

7. In a train pipe connecter, a bracket fixed to thetrain, a pair of horizontally spacer guides extending horizontally forward from the bracket, a head supporting member seating on and vertically pivoting between the guides, means forwardly pressing the member, and other means longitudinally adjustable limiting the forward position of the member along the guide.

EDNARD A. ROBINSON. 

